In The End
by Fireangel76
Summary: After seeing Infinity War and getting my heart utterly crushed I realised I could ve handle Loki's demisse if it had been better written so I wrote my own alternative beggining. There will be no happy ending but a glorious death which we were denied. Read at your own risk. PS: I really, really can't and won't believe Loki has died despite what anyone in Marvel says


"This is the Asgardian refugee vessel.

We are under assault. I repeat, we are under assault.

Aliens are dead, sliced open...

Requesting aid from any vessel within range...

Our crew is made of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here.

This is not a war craft, I repeat, this is not a war craft."

"Hear me... and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan.

You may think this is suffering …No. It is salvation. Universal scales tipped toward balance because of your sacrifice." The tall alien preached while he treaded over the battlefield, wreckage and bodies of either dead or dying Asgardians covered the ground. "Smile for even in death you have become Children of Thanos."

Only when his introduction was done that the mad Titan approached as he dragged the body of the once invincible Thor.

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless.

As lightning turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it, run from it... Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say... I am."

"You talk too much." Thor scorned him; even in defeat he refused to be broken.

"The Tesseract." Thanos demanded Loki ignoring Thor's comment. "Or, your brother's head. I assume you have a preference?"

Loki feigned disdain while he answered "Oh, I do … Kill away."

Thanos was expecting such response and without any delayed pressed the infinity stone already on his gauntlet against Thor's head extracting painful screams from the fallen God.

The sound of his brother's screams pierced Loki's heart dissolving his façade in an anxious scowl as he hurriedly yelled "All right, stop!" He couldn't let Thor die.

"We don't have the Tesseract." Thor almost mockingly interjected thinking that Thanos demands were futile. "It was destroyed on Asgard."

Displeased with the truth Loki down casted his gaze "Actually … it wasn't. But I'm going to need more than just Thor's head to surrender it to you." He raised his eyes to meet the Titan's.

"You dare try to negotiate with me" Thanos asked almost amused by Loki's insolence. "I can crush both yours and your brother's skull in a heartbeat."

"But then you wouldn't obtain the Tesseract, would you?" Loki taunted him; until he had delivered the Tesseract Thanos wouldn't kill him, not until then.

"And tell me what do you exactly want now? Don't tell me you are still looking for a throne to sit on?" Thanos mockingly asked him.

"No." Loki plainly told him when he noticed Hulk and Valkyrie through the corner of his eye; they were ready to jump on their aid. Furtively he locked eyes with her and nodding his head negatively he continued. "I want you to let what's left of my people live. Let them board the escape pods and escape as far as they can from your … salvation."

"Huh" Thanos interjected as he considered Loki's proposal. "So, that's your price?" There couldn't be much Asgardians left alive in the vessel anyway; furthermore, it wouldn't matter how far they ran once he got all the stones.

"Yes" Loki agreed praying that Valkyrie would caught on his true intentions. "Pay it and I'll surrender the Tesseract to you. Unlike my brother I know when a battle has been lost. I'm quite sure Earth will be the next arena; let the earthlings deal with you next."

"You really are the worst, brother." Thor reproached him mostly unsurprised by his proposal. Maybe he would be able to save a hundred lives but at what cost.

"I already know what awaits me." Loki acknowledged as his gaze met Heimdall's for a brief instant. "I assure you, brother. The sun will shine on us again." Loki knew as he spoke the words that that was a promise he would break unless some sort of miracle occurred.

Thanos knew it too. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." He didn't forgave failure and Loki has failed him miserably.

"Do we have a deal or no?" Loki demanded as he ignored everyone's comments as he gazed into Valkyrie's and Hulk's position.

"We do Asgardian." Thanos agreed. "Deliver the Tesseract first and your people shall live."

Loki nodded affirmatively as he summoned the Tesseract. Would they be in such a mess if he hadn't taken it; he would never know. As he grabbed the Tesseract in his hand he added "Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another..." Loki informed him wryly "… we have a Hulk." As he spoke the words Hulk rammed into Thanos.

"Let him have his fun." The tall alien ordered his minions."

"I thought I told you not to wait for us." Loki hurriedly reproached Valkyrie as he reached her side.

"You are welcomed." Valkyrie retorted. "We already took everyone we could find to the escape pods and were waiting for the right moment to leave. Now just explain me … what on Helheim were you doing with the Tesseract?!" She chided him as she gazed to the cube in his hands.

A hard crash made them look towards Thanos and Hulk; the green monster was losing.

"We don't have time for this. Launch the pods and tell Thor that…" he hesitated; what could he possibly say to him. "Just tell him that I really tried."

Hulk was already knocked out on the floor when unexpectedly Loki ran towards Thanos Tesseract in hand. In a desperate effort he mustered all his magic to activate it taking himself, Thanos and a good amount of bodies and debris through a portal leaving Valkyrie and a bounded Thor to deal with the Titan's minions.

"Loki!" Thor aguishly screamed his brother's name once he realized what he had done.

"Leave now!" Valkyrie yelled to someone though and intercom and swiftly helped Thor unbind himself before furiously jumping into battle. Thor was about to folloe her when a familiar voice stopped him. "Thor!"

"Heimdall!" Thor knelt beside his injured friend. "Heimdall are you all right?" Without waiting for an answer, he added. "Dis you saw what Loki did? Can you bring him back or take me with him?" He asked though ragged breath as he fought to withhold the myriad of emotions going though his head. Loki was all the family he had left.

"Thor!" Heimdall interrupted his desperate plea. "Don't waste your brother's sacrifice." Thor couldn't look him in the eye as Heimdall told him. "You heard Loki; Earth will be the next battlefield. You need to stop Thanos from gathering all the stones or everything will be lost. If have any strength left in me I must get you and Hulk back to Earth."

Thor nodded his head negatively in distraught. He didn't wanted to hear that even if he knew Heimdall was right.

"He's no match for Thanos." Thor admitted devastated; even he had been defeated by the mad Titan.

With the same violence they had disappeared the Tesseract had reappeared them in a dessert planet, Svartalfheim. It had been the first uninhabited planet that came to Loki's mind.

Loki felt heavily into the dusty ground rolling away from Thanos as he lost his grip on the Tesseract. Although it didn't matter, he wouldn't have the strength to use it again for a couple of hours.

Besides Thanos and himself some considerable amount of debris was brought along by the violent opening of the portal among the debris that was scattered there were some lifeless or agonizing Asgardian bodies that had been caught in the portal's pull.

As Loki raised to his feet as fast as he could he noticed briefly the terrified gaze of a dying Asgardian maiden drenched on her own blood fighting still for air even if she was too injured to get up. There was nothing he could do for her but even so he tried to encourage her with a smile that ended up in a crooked nervous one.

His thoughts were interrupted by Thanos who approached him slowly. Loki wasn't any threat to him and they both knew it. "I'm growing tired of your games Asgardian. What did you hoped to accomplish by bringing me here? You already know you can't win."

Loki backed down as he materialized a couple of daggers, they wouldn't be of much use against Thanos nevertheless he needed to stall him as long as he could to give the rest a chance. "I'm well aware of that." He grimly agreed. " I'll leave your defeat in the hands of heroes."

Thanos laughed amused. "You really think you can accomplish something by stalling. Did you learn nothing from enjoying my hospitality?"

"I wouldn't call torture as hospitable." Loki spat his jaw clenched irked by memories he longed to forget. "But I learned enough to know there is no escape from you. Besides … I'm tired of running." With that said he conjured a dozen clones that surrounded Thanos.

"All of this for your misplaced newfound love for your brother?" Thanos inquired eeying the clones surrounding him.

"He will defeat you in the end." Loki firmly asseverated.

"No, he won't" Thanos scoffed him. "But I'll enjoy dropping your mangled death body at his feet before crushing his skull under my boot." Thanos smiled wickedly before raising his gauntlet using the power stone to obliviate the clones with a power burst throwing the real Loki flying a couple of meters until the ground stopped his fall. His clothes, armour and skin scorched by the power of the stone. Thanos was toying with him; he could've killed him with just one blow.

"I have to say I am disappointed." Thanos mocked him. "I thought you said you were going to stall me. You are not worthy of my time." He walked towards Loki once more.

Hearing such words Loki's blood boiled, he was in great pain not only for getting scorched by the energy beam but also because of the impact; even so he forced his injured body to raise. Pain was reflected on his face as much as rage was portraited on his eyes; if he was to die he denied going gently.

He growled enraged clutching his fists as he summoned what was left of his magic, then proudly yelled "I am Loki, Prince of Asgard... Odin-son... The rightful king of Jotunheim, God of Mischief... and I … am … worthy! "With that he released all of his energies into a single telekinetic blow which made Thanos take a couple of steps back.

This last attack only infuriated the mad Titan who immediately charged against Loki. "Enough!" he growled as he threw the first punch against Loki who managed to success fully avoid it for just a couple of centimeters. But Thanos was faster than he seemed, and his second blow caught Loki directly into his chest as the mad Titan crushed him into the ground. "I could've gave you a merciful death if you had given me the Tesseract willingly." He informed Loki as he placed his boot over his injured chest pinning him down.

"No!" Was the only thought that resounded on the maiden's head as tears rolled down her eyes. How much she wished she had died before watching the gruesome spectacle in front of her. With their home world gone as well as most of its inhabitants they had found the smallest of comfort on their prince's presence. They gave them hope in a hopeless situation.

"And Thor would've had the same treatment sooner or later." Loki answered between coughs and wheezes, blood already flooding his lungs due to unknown number of broken ribs. "At least I …"

He was interrupted by his own painful scream which filled the air as Thanos brought all his weight down as he crushed Loki's chest. As the most blood chilling screams you could ever imagined resounded on the deserted planet the sound of crushing bones followed it and then … silence.

Silence, never the sound of silence had ever been so horrifying. He had killed him. The Prince had survived the Void, the Dark Elves, even Hela and now Thanos had killed him. "It's hopeless." The maiden thought as thicker tears escaped her eyes; sorrowfully adverting her eyes from the bloody scene she turned her head as she fought to still a sob frightened Thanos could hear her as she fought the urge to vomit; such was the pain that filled her soul.

Thanos paces broke the silence; he retrieved the Tesseract from where it had fallen and with his bare hand broke the cubic container releasing the space stone from within. With a wide grin on his face he placed the stone in his gauntlet.

"Thor!" Valkyrie scream brought Thor back from his thoughts. Leaving Heimdalls side Thor came to her aid.

"I will handle this, leave!" Thor commanded her.

"But, Thor …" She protested.

"What's left of our people will need someone to protect them. It has to be you. I'm …" Thor told her.

"Otherwise engaged." Valkyrie acknowledged. "I'm hating this already, but I will do as you ask." With that she knocked another enemy down before disappearing into a corridor,

"Heimdall, are you sure you can't bring Loki back before sending us to …" Thor inquired in hope as he stopped another blow.

"It's useless" Heimdall acknowledged grimly as a new portal opened. Though it appeared Thanos dragging Loki lifeless battered body.

"Your brother is dead" He informed Thor as he dropped Loki's bloodstained body in front of him; Thor dropped to his knees aghast he couldn't believe it. With the heaviest of hearts, he cradled his brother's broken body against his chest embracing his bloody features while he cried in anguished denial. "No, no, no. No... Loki...no."

Without waiting any longer Heimdall called on the last of his strength. "Forefathers... Let the dark magic, flow through me one last... time." An energy beam took Hulk from the ship and took him to Earth.

"That was a mistake." Thanos calmly told Heimdall as he killed him in one simple motion.

"No! You are going to die for that!" Thor finally snapped out of his grief angered by the new loss of his friend as he was bonded once more.

"My humble personage... bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The Universe lies within your grasp." The leader of his minions praised Thanos as he bowed before him.

"There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my Children, and bring them to me on Titan." Thanos commanded them.

"Father, we will not fail you." The alien responded.

Meanwhile in Svartalfheim a lonely figure spent her last moments feverishly weaving her last masterpiece. She had been a well-known poetess under fake Odin's rule. Her body was failing her, but her spirit refused to let go until it was finished. With a sigh she pleaded mentally into the sky. "Dear all-mother if you can hear me, I beg you; please grant me this request and sing to your child this humble eulogy when he joins your side at Valhalla."

Next a small broken voice in a half whisper sang her prayer

"Let the universe dim away

Life's sundown matters me little

When an unmerciful spear crosses my heart

Raining still in a cloudless sky

I beg the heavens for a miracle.

How much I already miss the laugher in his eyes

His incorrigible mischievous smile

That's brings both joy and fright to my side

Oh, my dear prince let this be once more just another witty trick.

Deny me not the presence of your beloved shadow

Torture me with the hopeless hope of looking into your eyes

I will never be by your side I know that much

But foolish children live on foolish hopes

Deny me not the ache of loving you hopelessly.

Death angel I beseech you, take not my love

Darkest Serafín give me back what I can't own

Don't be jealous oh sweet peace bringer

And return the misrule jewel back

Bring back the chaos and rebirth; let him torment my days again."

Silence conquered again the lonely planet that laid a true hero to rest.


End file.
